Does this mean I'm crunchy?

Last Wednesday, after many months of kids' begging for it, I made granola. (Frankly, it didn't seem fair to make it until Miss P#5 had her braces removed; I'm sure the seeds would not be fun to clean out of braces.)

Before baking

I've been making infinite variations of this recipe for as long as I've been a mom. It comes from the La Leche League Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook (first edition). And yes, my copy is held together by pink duct tape. 

This recipe is limited only by your imagination:

One-Pan* Granola

Heat in a large roasting pan** (at 250 degrees F): 

1/2 to 1 cup vegetable oil, margarine or butter (your choice)

1/2 to 1 cup sweetener (any combination of honey, molasses, syrup [maple, cane or corn], or brown sugar: again, your choice)

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. extract (vanilla, almond, coconut: your choice!)

While mixture is heating, assemble your dry ingredients in a large bowl: 

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

6 cups of ANY combination of the following: 

chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, cashews etc.)

shredded coconut

chopped dates, apricots, figs, or any dried fruit of choice

raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries

seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, chia, poppy

small quantity (1/2 cup or less) of any flour

wheat germ

bran

non-fat dry milk powder

millet

soy grits

2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1 tsp salt (to taste)

When liquid mixture in oven is warm and thinned, add dry ingredients, stirring/tossing well to coat thoroughly. Toast in the roasting pan for about 2 hours (at 250 degrees F), stirring every 20 minutes. Baking times are approximate: watch carefully (and sample) until it is done to your taste (it becomes crisper as it cools in the pan). Alternately, toast on cookie sheets for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F. 

* I use 3 cookie sheets because it's faster, and I don't stir the granola. We like it very crunchy.

** if you opt for cookie sheets, then heat the sugar/fat in a small saucepan on the stovetop, and toss the ingredients in a very large heat-proof bowl. 

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